If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure (or pre-hypertension) the doctor likely provides you a pill ans say words along the alines of "Lose weight, exercise, eat healthily and destress". Easy enough to say, but where to start when we all lead busy, stressful lives?
Fortunately there are many ways to combat hypertension. The important thing is to find an area that you can focus on and start to make improvement.
As ever, please talk to your doctor, or medical practitioner most familiar with your medical history before implementing any changes in diet, exercise or lifestyle; especially if you are under treatment.
Are you affected by high blood pressure? If Yes, you are not alone. Some stats on hypertension in Singapore, similar to many developed nations:
The overall crude prevalence of hypertension showed a significant increase from 2017 (24.2%) to 2019-2020 (35.5%). Similarly, the age-standardised prevalence had increased from 21.9% in 2017 to 31.7% in 2019-2020.
More males (41.0%) had hypertension compared with females (30.2%) during the period 2019-2020.
Prevalence of hypertension increased with age; starting at around 10% for those aged 18 to 29 years to 74.9% among those aged 70 to 74 years.
Among all residents with hypertension, almost half (52.4%) of them had not been previously diagnosed with hypertension. Among the known hypertensives who attended health examination, about two-thirds (64.3%) had poor control of their blood pressure." Source: Ministry of Health National Population Health Survey 2020
Known as the 'silent killer' as often it is unrecognised, hypertension over time has serious, fatal, consequences. The good news is that it is never too late (or too early) to take action, even if you have been on medication for a while.
Taking Action
Are you familiar with your blood pressure numbers? Testing is essential and only takes a few minutes. If your blood pressure is high, take an anti-hypertensive medication as prescribed by your doctor.
Your doctor will likely advise lifestyle modification to address the root cause of high blood pressure. This for many is the hard part, chamghing established habits is certainly harder than taking a pill. Lifestyle modification doesn't have to mean giving up all the things that you love. Just taking a reasonable approach in the areas that you can, and to progress from there.
What might lifestyle modification consist of?
Achieve a healthy body weight / Body Mass Index. This can take time and has a host of health benefits, not only for hypertension.
Salt (sodium) reduction. Especially beware of hidden salt in processed and ultra-processed foods, say, bread or noodles.
Enjoy a DASH diet; eat more fruit, vegetables and fibre. This diet can be easily modified to suit taste preferences from around the world, Western, Asian or other.
Nutrition education to support making good dietary decisions.
Weight bearing exercise / resistance training; especially isometric exercise to reduce blood pressure.
Aerobic / cardio exercise; especially increasing VO2max and HIIT training. Any exercise that gets your blood moving is good but increased intensity has greater benefits.
Improve your sleep. Note that sleep apnea is also a factor in hypertension.
Reduce your stress.
Reduce cigarette and alcohol consumption.
Combining two or more of these can provide greater benefit than any single action step, and often they go hand in hand. For example, exercise supports better sleep. Better sleep supports better eating practices. Better eating practices support weight loss. And so on. A cycle of improvement and success.
What about genetics? While for some there is a genetic element to their hypertension, adhering to a healthy lifestyle alone can reduce cardiovascular risk by about 30%.
Health should be about fun and life satisfaction. Improving diet, taking exercise, playing sport should not be viewed in punitive terms. They can all add enjoyment and value to life.
Hypertension does not have to mean being on a lifetime of medication. Taking steps to beat hypertension does not mean having to compromise on enjoying life, in fact, they can bring improvements to enjoying life with greater vitality.
Improving health is about finding motivation, prioritising self-care and taking action. If you want to take effective and targeted steps that fit into your unique lifestyle, The Whole Health Practice is here to help.
Whether your interest is healthspan and longevity, to beat chronic illness or to enhance your mental health and well-being, our consultations and programs deliver results that are tailored to your needs.
Our foundational Whole Health Consult identifies and prioritises the key factors - known and unknown - that affect health and wellbeing. It provides targeted recommendations tailored to you, the individual, and your unique lifestyle.
Stay Healthy,
Alastair
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Related Resources and Studies
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